Who Are
Becka Rahn & Doreen Hartzell
Doreen Hartzell, Jen Cuff, & Becka Rahn
Becka Rahn
Two Fish Fibers is a collaborative creative partnership from Doreen Hartzell (Goldfish Love Fibers) and Becka Rahn. They are both full-time teaching artists, but sometimes they make, sell, and teach things together. They are occasionally joined by Jen Cuff of Strawberry Moon Fibers at festivals and shows throughout the Twin Cities area.
Doreen and Becka started collaborating in 2011 when they shared a booth at the Shepherd’s Harvest Festival in Lake Elmo, MN. They’d never met before, but it might have been the best blind date ever. Since then they have teamed up for many events, shows, kits and projects. Their first artistic collaboration was making felted tribbles at a farmer’s market booth. The day was steamy and the traffic was a little slow, so they came up with a “sophisticated marketing plan” involving sidewalk chalk and a shared love of geekery.
“Our booth has the most puns per square foot.”
Doreen dyes yarns and fine embroidery threads using both commercial and natural dyes. She is also a hand spinner and weaver, creating one-of-a-kind pieces using locally sourced fibers. She is a geek for ancient and heritage fiber art techniques. In contrast, Becka loves exploring modern technology and tools. She specializes in creating original fabric designs which are digitally printed on fabric. She uses eco-canvas, made from recycled water bottles, to create notions and project bags for all kinds of crafts. She also designs and creates miniature weaving kits with laser cut components and stitches handmade sketchbooks. They both share a love of puns and word play, celebrating the intersection of fiber art, geekery, science fiction, and pop culture.
Doreen Hartzell
They have both served on the Board of Directors at the Weaver Guild of Minnesota. They have taught classes for local shops and organizations including Darn Knit Anyway, Knit & Bolt, Anoka Fiber Works, Dakota County Libraries, Textile Center and Weavers Guild of MN. Their work has been seen in Spin Off, Handwoven Magazine, Little Looms, MakeMN and Fiber Art Now.
